- Mark "Rent Boy" Renton – The novel's protagonist and most frequent narrator, Renton is the voice of reason among his group of friends, many of whom he dislikes. He narrates his daily life – from supporting his heroin addiction with dole money and petty theft to interacting with the "normal world" – with a cynical approach. He is intelligent and capable of participating in mainstream society, but he is misanthropic and depressed, and uses heroin to give purpose to his life as well as for hedonistic purposes.
- Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson – A promiscuous, amoral con artist and one of Renton's close friends. He is often on the lookout for potential scams and has little respect for the many women he seduces. Sick Boy swears off heroin after the death of the infant Dawn, implied to be his daughter, who asphyxiates while her mother Lesley and Sick Boy are on a heroin binge.
- Daniel "Spud" Murphy – Naive and childlike, Spud is both the whipping boy and only real source of comfort among Renton's circle of friends, who feel protective of him even as they take advantage of him. Spud is kind, sensitive, and loves animals. Spud is sent to Saughton Prison for a section of the novel for petty theft.
- Francis "Franco" Begbie – A violent psychopath and alcoholic, Begbie bullies his "friends" to go along with whatever he says, assaulting or intimidating anyone who challenges him. He expresses intense loyalty to his friends even though he considers junkies beneath him.
- Davie Mitchell – Another Leith native and acquaintance of Renton. Davie is a university graduate and holds down a decent job. His life is thrown into chaos when he contracts HIV. He narrates the chapters "Bad Blood" and "Traditional Sunday Breakfast".
- Tommy Lawrence MacKenzie – A childhood friend of Renton's, Tommy asks Renton for heroin to try after his girlfriend dumps him, which Renton reluctantly provides. Tommy's resulting addiction, illness and death weighs heavily on Renton's conscience.
- Rab "Second Prize" McLaughlin – A friend of the main group, who is often inebriated and gets into frequent fights while drunk, which he always loses. Second Prize had a promising career as a pro footballer for Manchester United, but he was fired from the team after a few years because of his drinking problem.
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